At a meeting in Singapore in September, the bank’s board
first asked Oswald Gruebel, the departing chief, to stay, before
approaching Ulrich Koerner, now Ermotti’s number two, the Swiss
newspaper reported.

Koerner refused the interim role because he saw it as
weakening his chances for the permanent job, later awarded to
Ermotti, the report said.

UBS spokesman Dominique Gerster declined to comment when
called by Bloomberg News.